.
ro·man·tic
adj.
Given to thoughts or feelings of romance;
imaginative but impractical;
tan·gle
v.
To mix together or intertwine;
n.
A confused, intertwined mass.
A jumbled or confused state or condition

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Monday, August 18, 2014

Halloween Parlor Quilt Tutorial

Got a bunch of 1 1/2" strips of blacks and neutrals and an urge for a fun new Halloween quilt? I love the way the intricately pieced borders of this one suggest an ornate frame. For this year, I want to make myself another one with a scalloped black outer border.

From neutral 1 1/2" strips, cut eight 8 1/2 strips and sew them long sides together to form the background for the center square. Press.

Print the bird silhouette and enlarge or reduce it so that it fits neatly into the center square. Using fusible web, applique the bird into the center square. I zigzagged around the outer edges of mine with black thread.

For the hourglass units, use the Companion Angle to cut quarter square triangles from 1 1/2" strips. (Not sure how to use the Companion Angle? I've got pictures in the tutorial for Strawberry Stars.) Sew them into pairs to make half square triangles, then sew the half square triangles to make a total of sixty-four 2 1/2" hourglass square units.

For the pieced border, you'll be making panels from the hourglass squares. Make two panels each two squares wide by four squares high. and sew them on the left and right sides of the center square. Make two panels each three squares wide by eight squares wide and sew them to the top and bottom of the quilt.

This is the clip art silhouette I used for my quilt --

I made this quilt last year and meant to do a tutorial then, but a series of last minute changes in the layout meant that the pictures I took while assembling it didn't match the finished project.